Ukraine: Sovereignty, Democracy, and Zelenskyy
- Genocide Watch
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
By: Alexander Smith
On the morning of February 24th, 2022, armed Russian soldiers crossed the border into Ukraine in what Russia called a “special military operation.” Explosions rocked Donetsk and Kharkiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly found himself bearing the brunt of overextended economic resources and fractured international support. As a result, some spectators and internal dissidents have begun to wonder if Ukrainian Democracy will survive the end of the war, citing expanded executive power, crackdowns on political opponents, and an indefinite pause on elections.
But such worries overlook the deep context situating Ukraine and its history of civic engagement and budding statehood. Zelenskyy is as much a perpetuator of Ukrainian democratic tendency as he is a product of it. The Orange Revolution and Maidan Revolution both became the foundation of a strong civil society with a desire for democracy and the will to protect it. And while Zelenskyy's wartime rule has stagnated efforts to push Ukraine towards consolidated democracy, it’s unlikely that Ukraine and its people will allow Zelenskyy to drag them into authoritarianism during and after the war.
